Hope Springs

Posted by Laurel

Aug30

Hope Springs might seem like a typical romantic comedy, even though it has some atypical, older-than-average stars.

Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones portray a couple who have been married for over thirty years. The wife, Kay, decides she wants something more for their marriage, so she signs them up for a week of “intensive therapy.” Let the movies of hilarity and awkwardness begin!

One interesting thing Hope Springs does is illustrate that issues in marriages, while perhaps appearing to be caused by one person, in reality have their roots in the behavior of both people. The real surprise of the movie, however, is probably Steve Carell as the therapist, Dr. Feld. He’s an excellent actor, so I was curious to see how he would play a character that wasn’t driven by comedy. He nailed it. He sits in a chair for most of the movie, but still maintains the necessary gravitas and empathy for the character. Both Tommy Lee Jones and Meryl Streep were excellent, but we shouldn’t expect any less from them.

Hope Springs was an engaging and enjoyable movie, sometimes painful in its realism. If you don’t get a chance to watch it in theaters, I recommend you watch it when it’s available on DVD.